Welcome back for the second week of the One Room Challenge or if you are new click back to week one to get caught up. I feel like there's still a daunting amount to complete but our mudroom is already feeling like a completely different room. To recap here's the list I started with and my progress so far.
Replace the door jamb and repair the drywall, - done
Install a functional electric wall heater, - done
Add a new light fixture, - done
Prime and paint the doors and walls, - done
Replace the tile flooring, - done
Upgrade the closet doors,
Construct a built-in bench/storage,
Install new trim work,
Replace mismatched door hardware, and
Accessorize and photograph the space
I know that to do list doesn't look too bad but we have a week we'll be taking a family vacation to Disney World during the challenge so the five weeks of the challenge is being condensed down to four for me. In that time I'm also going to need to brush up on some carpentry skills to do the closet upgrade, built-in bench, and trim work. I'm starting to feel overwhelmed just typing that so here's a motivational progress photo to show how far I've come so far.
Getting the drywall repaired and a fresh coat of Benjamin Moore Simply White on the walls was a nice fresh start but my favorite upgrade so far has been the flooring. Looking through the inspiration images I collected on Pinterest for the mudroom I noticed a theme - wood flooring. But wood doesn't seem all that practical for a mudroom so I went with a budget, DIY, and maintenance friendly alternative - Vinyl Plank. We've put the same floating vinyl plank flooring in both our finished basement and our master bathroom due to moisture concerns and I'd give if five stars for ease of maintenance and durability. It also couldn't be easier to install with minimal tools and skill required.
Because the TrafficMASTER vinyl plank is floating it can be installed directly over an existing concrete, wood, vinyl or tile floor. I've already used it over tile in our master bathroom and my one lesson learned from that is that you can feel the grout lines and minor floor imperfections telegraphed through the vinyl plank because it's not rigid. Although it hasn't seemed to impact the durability or aesthetics of the floor in our master bathroom, the very large grout lines in the existing mudroom tile floor had me concerned that I would be annoyed if I felt these minor imperfections underfoot everyday.
To deal with this concern, I decided to prep the tile floor using a FeatherFinish patch and skimcoat to make the grout lines flush with the surface of the tile. Now that I've got the flooring down I'm happy to report that this extra preparation step was successful and I'm not able to feel the tile sub floor under the vinyl planks. (Sidenote: I went out to pick up the vinyl planks from Home Depot but forgot to close the door to this from the house so when I entered in from the garage our dog trampled through all of the skimcoat when he came to greet me at the door. Thankfully it still smoothed out in the areas that got mucked up or this could have turned into a really long day!)
Here's a quick sneak peak of what's to come in the next couple of weeks with the built-ins and closet upgrade...
Image via Dorsey Designs
Image via Room for Tuesday
Hope to see you back next week!
-Rebecca
